County and state come to an agreement on All Creatures

Wednesday

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture plans to take possession of the no-kill animal shelter Friday after years of regulatory orders and court battles.

Everything is in place for the state to take control of the All Creatures Great and Small shelter Friday.

The state reached separate agreements with Henderson County and property owner Don Gladieux on Tuesday after negotiations that took place all afternoon.

"I think this is as good a solution as we could have found," said Bill Moyer, chairman of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture plans to take possession of the no-kill animal shelter Friday after years of regulatory orders and court battles. For legal reasons, the state needs Henderson County to take legal possession of the animals. State officials, including Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, have been pressing the county for an agreement before the takeover.

The agreements

The state plans to find homes for all the adoptable animals at the shelter, either with rescue organizations or individuals. County commissioners had expressed concern about getting stuck with the entire operation.

Commissioners wanted a strict timeline in the agreement on when the county takes possession of the animals and how the transfer of ownership would take place.

Associate County Attorney Sarah Zambon said the county will "take legal custody but not physical custody" of the animals. She said the state will have complete control over running the shelter once it takes control.

Assistant County Manager Selena Coffey said the state and county engaged in tough negotiations but she was pleased both sides could come to an agreement.

"I think the state has worked hard to make this happen," Coffey said. "Obviously there can be some unforeseen things that can happen. I believe they have a plan that will go smoothly."

The county did not take on any financial responsibility for management of the facility.

Land sale imposes timeline

While negotiations took place between the county and state Tuesday, talks were also going on between Gladieux and the state. Officials from the county worked all afternoon finalizing the agreement while Gladieux and assistant state veterinarian Mary Ann McBride sat in the commissioners' office.

A key point for Gladieux was a later timeline. Agriculture officials wanted the shutdown completed by Feb. 28. But Gladieux said the original consent order called for the closure on Friday, March 14, which is also the date Gladieux is scheduled to transfer ownership of the property to local businessman Robert Quattlebaum.

Quattlebaum said he spoke with Gladieux two years ago about purchasing the property along Seventh Avenue. Gladieux bought the 4.3 acres for $275,000 more than three years ago. The property is now assessed at $814,700, county records say.

No animal shelter planned

Quattlebaum said he entered into an agreement and has given Gladieux a down payment on the deal. He said he will take possession of the property March 14 once All Creatures employees are off the property.

The agreement between the county and state calls for the termination to take place March 14.

Quattlebaum said he is unsure what he will do with the property, but said it will not contain an animal shelter.

"I don't have any plans for that property," Quattlebaum said. "The first thing I am going to do is clean it up. I'm tired of looking at it."

Gladieux said he was also concerned that the animals not be moved out of the facility. He said that would stress the animals. He said he was pleased with how the agreement was finalized and expected a clean transfer to take place.

"It's gonna be smooth," Gladieux said. "It has to. I have worked too hard on this."

Finding new homes

The big remaining question is the adoption of the animals. McBride said the state is in contact with national and local rescue groups. She said the state is bringing in veterinarians locally and from across the state to assess the animals. They will do behavior tests to determine if an animal is aggressive and possesses a risk, McBride said. She was confident that the state can find a home for all the animals.

"I believe every animal at that property has a chance to be adoptable," McBride said.

She said several of the dogs are pitbulls and "extremely dog aggressive." McBride said it will take a very special situation to adopt those types of animals.

"If there are people who want to adopt those animals and understand what they are getting into, we will allow that to happen," McBride said, adding, "Those are wonderful animals. They will make a good companion for somebody."

Under the agreement with the county, the state must assess all the animals in the facility and provide the material to the county within 10 days.

The state is trying to negotiate to get access to the property prior to Friday, but McBride said she was still planning on the transfer taking place that day. She said she was glad all the agreements were finalized.

"I think today was a breakthrough for the animals," McBride said.

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